British RP Accent Coach - A Poem to Help You Progress
Hello from London!
As a British RP accent coach I have recently been coaching a variety of people studying RP. With the weather during February and March filled with rain, I thought I would introduce you to a short rain-themed poem that helps learn an RP accent by W.H. Davies.
A lovely accent coaching exercise I often do with people studying a British RP accent, and who have some basic knowledge of the IPA vowel system, is isolating each vowel in the words.
Why is it useful to isolate the vowels for RP accent coaching?
Well, it clarifies for us which RP vowel is correct and shows the swift changes we make forming the vowels as we move through any text. It certainly highlights that our articulators have an amazing number of swift journeys to make throughout even the shortest of words!
Exercise
Clarify the correct vowels using the IPA Vowel System Chart as you go through the first stanza of the poem and ‘lift’ them out of each word as you move along.
Repeat each vowel x 3 and experience a real feeling of form and shape of each of the individual vowels. Each word is then filled with the correct sounds and we can feel we are getting to know the different shapes of the vowels our articulators take on as we speak through each line. Then move through line by line using only the vowels one after another. And to finish, speak the line/s fully and fluently, vowels and consonants all!
Take a look at the poem below; the vowels are highlighted, ready to lift and isolate from their words. Look for the repetitions of vowels within the different words!
I hope you will enjoy this simple but very effective British RP accent coaching exercise to further your journey towards finding your RP sounds.
The Rain
I hear the leaves drinking rain
I hear rich leaves on top
Giving the poor beneath
Drop after drop;
’Tis a sweet noise to hear
These green leaves drinking near.
And when the Sun comes out,
After this Rain shall stop,
A wondrous Light will fill
Each dark, round drop;
I hope the Sun shines bright;
’Twill be a lovely sight
W.H. Davies [1871-1940]
Good luck and enjoy!
Ros